Even though Preston's Light Ranger 2 has been out for a while, we were able to get a demo while at their NAB Booth.
This infrared focus tool uses infrared to measure distances along 16 horizontally arranged detection zones to let focus pullers know exactly what's in focus and what's not via a display on their monitors. The 16 detection zones are represented by bars that light up green when objects are within the depth of field, when in manual mode. Autofocus mode allows users to select which of these bars they want their camera to autofocus to.
The Light Ranger 2 seems like a great solution for those who want to keep their eyes up on their monitors rather than down on a read-out, but seeing as its $10K for the Light Ranger kit (infrared module and graphical overlay box) and $27K for the FI+Z Three kit (HU3 hand unit, a set of Digital Motors, a Micro Force zoom control), this is a rental-only option.
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Your Comment
3 Comments
Why do they keep throwing at us these out of this world prices?!!
April 30, 2016 at 11:29AM
Um...if you can't use your eyes to focus correctly, you shouldn't be filming.
May 5, 2016 at 7:06AM
Obviously you've never pulled focus professionally before. There are a lot of tools for different situations, and this is a great new tool for a particular style of shooting that is becoming increasingly popular/unavoidable. Don't knock it because you don't understand it.
May 10, 2016 at 12:14PM, Edited May 10, 12:15PM